Monday, February 23, 1998Last modified at 11:51 p.m. on Sunday, February 22, 1998

'Grannies' image follows Grammys

Associated Press

The British band Radiohead produced what one poll of critics rated the best album of 1997 - an ambitious cycle of rock songs that soars to operatic heights with its vision of paranoia in the computer age.

Shouldn't that make Radiohead the favorite to take home music's most prestigious award when the 40th annual Grammy Awards are presented Wednesday night? Don't count on it.

Despite revamping the Grammys' top categories after the 1995 awards, it remains to be seen whether the most acclaimed music can actually win. The awards will be broadcast on CBS-TV Wednesday from New York City's Radio City Music Hall.

Radiohead is up for two prizes: album of the year and alternative music. Rhythm 'n' blues producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds leads the nominations with eight, followed by newcomer Paula Cole and rapper Puff Daddy with seven each.

Two years ago, Pearl Jam failed to win the best album award for the breakthrough "Vitalogy." And last year, Beck had rave reviews for "Odelay" but lost the award to Celine Dion.

That Radiohead's "OK Computer" is even nominated is proof the Grammys have finally gotten with the times, says Michael Greene, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, the Grammy's governing board.

"Our constituency is getting so much more hip, so much younger that we are rapidly approaching a time when pretty much anything can happen," says Greene, who notes that dance, remix and Spanish rock categories are new this year.

And yet nothing really has changed, complains Thomas O'Neil, author of "The Grammys: For the Record." He says the awards - mocked by some as the "Grannies" - are still hopelessly out of touch with anyone younger than 40.

"They've been dismissed as being notoriously fuddy-duddy," says O'Neil. "It's nice that they're trying to make a serious effort to address their problems, but I'm not sure that they've come up with a solution yet."

Three years ago, NARAS tried to fend off criticism that the Grammys had become irrelevant by selecting more diverse music. A secret panel of about 20 industry insiders began nominating the top awards - record, song, album and best new artist of the year. There currently are 9,000 members eligible to vote in NARAS.

The nominations changed a bit but the winners tended to be more of the same, with top Grammys still being awarded to romantic ballads (Seal's "Kiss From a Rose") or overdue veterans (Eric Clapton).

The Grammy's biggest problem is that there is no way to monitor whether members actually listen to all the music they vote for, O'Neil says. That translates to winners with the biggest names but not always the best music.

"There are 50,000 CD releases every year," O'Neil says. "There is no conceivable way that the Grammy voters could be familiar with all that music. Ninety percent of the voters have never heard `OK Computer' and never will."

That could explain why winners tend to repeat year after year. Perennial winners include Vince Gill (country), Clapton (rock) and Babyface (rhythm and blues).

It may also be the reason why the Grammys seem to have the biggest credibility problem of the major entertainment awards.

This, after all, is the group that has awarded Michael Bolton the same number of Grammys as the Rolling Stones (two). And top Grammys have been awarded to such now-dismissed acts as Starland Vocal Band ("Afternoon Delight"), Christopher Cross ("Sailing") and USA for Africa ("We Are the World").

Perhaps the most embarrassing gaffe occurred after the Academy named the pop duo Milli Vanilli best new artist of 1989. Bandmates Rob Pilatus and Fab Morvan were stripped of the award after it was revealed they did not sing a note on their best-selling album.

O'Neil says the Grammys should adopt the process used by the Emmys in which panels of the television academy are forced to watch everything nominated - without showing any outward biases - before they can vote.

Greene admits the Grammys' system may not be perfect but works just fine. His admonition at the top and bottom of each ballot urges members not to vote in categories if they haven't heard the music.

"We've really become known as a progressive organization that's not beholden to anyone," Greene says. "Who would've thought five years ago that a band like Prodigy would have been nominated?"

But he adds, "I can't be convinced that everybody's listening to everything."

So what do the nominees think? Many, like folk-pop songwriter Shawn Colvin, just want the opportunity to perform on the show because an appearance can dramatically increase CD sales.

Colvin, still waiting to find out whether she will be one of the 14 nominees selected to perform, says she understands the Grammys are "just a show."

"You'd like it to be about the music," says Colvin, whose "Sunny Came Home" is nominated for song and record of the year.

"They put on a television show every year, and they have sponsors and ads. It starts to get very political and power-driven. That's very distasteful to everyone."

Of this year's nominees, O'Neil says it may be "the most embarrassing Grammy year of all" if the Hanson teens win record of the year for the catchy bubble gum ditty "MMMBop." He predicts that could happen if the women nominated in the same category - Cole, Colvin and Sheryl Crow - split the vote.

And O'Neil thinks Babyface's "The Day" has a slight edge over Bob Dylan's "Time Out of Mind" for album of the year. Babyface already has won nine Grammy awards. Despite his legendary status, Dylan has won only three, the last in 1995 for best traditional folk album ("World Gone Wrong").

Radiohead is considered an also-ran. Most telling may be that the British quintet has decided to continue touring instead of attending the ceremony.